Southwark Consorts of Winds

• Gounod, "Petite Symphonie"
• Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
• Heinrich Schutz, Psalm 128
• Giovanni Gabrieli, "Quis Est Iste", from Sacrae Symphoniae 1597
• Handel, Fireworks Music, La Paix, La Rejouissance
• Liz Lane - Turnabout
• Howard Jones, Blue Mobile World Premiere
• Amir Mahyar Tafreshipou, In the Dark World Premiere
• George Enescu, Roumanian Rhapsody no 1, Op 11

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  Programme Notes

  Gounod, "Petite Symphonie"

  Charles Gounod wrote his "Petite Symphonie" in 1885 for the Parisian wind ensemble "La Trompette" which was directed by the celebrated flautist Paul Taffanel. This may possibly explain why there is no second flute part in the original scoring. What is less understandable is the dearth of notes in the original second oboe part and the version performed tonight will feature both a newly-created second flute and a more rounded second oboe part.

  Petite Symphonie has four movements: Adagio/Allegretto, Andante cantabile, Scherzo and Finale allegretto.

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  Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusi

  Mozart's popular "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik", more properly the Serenade No 13 in G, K525, was composed in Vienna whilst Mozart was working on Don Giovanni, around 1787. Originally scored just for strings (sometimes played as a quartet or quintet, sometimes with a string orchestra) the version you will hear tonight has been re-orchestrated for wind and brass instruments, a relatively common practice in Mozart's time, and some of the movements have been moved to the slightly more wind-friendly key of F.

  There are four movements; Allegro, Romanze, Minuet and Rondo allegro.

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  Heinrich Schutz, Psalm 128

  Schutz was the pre-eminent German composer of the early 17th century, writing music for the Lutheran Church. During his lifetime, Germany was torn apart by the 30 Years War, ostensibly fought over religion, and he had to flee to Denmark for safety. This setting of Psalm 128 is one of many Psalm setting he made for choir, using two choirs situated antiphonally on opposite sides as was common at the time. Psalm 128 begins with the words "Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands; your shall be happy."

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  Giovanni Gabrieli, "Quis Est Iste", from Sacrae Symphoniae 1597

  This is one of the 16 instrumental and 45 vocal compositions published in 1597 under the title Symphoniae Sacrae by Giovanni Gabrieli, organist at St.Mark's cathedral in Venice. It is a vocal work, but it was the practice at the time for vocal lines to be doubled or even replaced by instruments - for instance the bass part goes impractically low for voice. They were written in the antiphonal style pioneered by the early Baroque masters such as Gabrieli, and would first have been performed with choirs of voices, and perhaps instruments, situated in galleries on opposite sides of St Mark's, Venice.

  
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  Handel, Fireworks Music, La Paix, La Rejouissance

  The Music for the Royal Fireworks (HWV 351) was composed by George Frideric Handel in 1749 under contract of George II of Great Britain for the fireworks in London's Green Park on 27 April 1749. It was to celebrate the end of the War of the Austrian Succession and the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

  The performing musicians were in a specially constructed building which had been designed by Servandoni, a theatre designer. The music provided a background for the royal fireworks. However the display was not as successful as the music. The enormous wood building caught fire due to the fall of the bas relief of George II. However, the music had been performed publicly six days earlier, on 21 April 1749 when there was a full rehearsal of the music at Vauxhall Gardens. Over twelve thousand people, each paying 2s 6d, rushed for it, causing a three-hour traffic jam of carriages, after the main route to the area south of the river was closed (after the new London Bridge's central arch collapsed and it had to be closed). The work is in five movements, of which we will be performing two. (Source: Wikipedia)

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  Liz Lane - Turnabout

  "I was commissioned to compose a piece for the Southwark Winds Ancient and Modern Consort in the summer of 2004 and looked forward to the challenge of writing for this unusual combination of instruments. I was particularly interested in how the ensemble could be grouped into blocks of sound using different combinations, in particular the woodwind versus brass with the alto saxophone taking an independent lyrical role in the middle. The work was partly built around this and the tutti ensemble is not heard until over halfway through the piece.

  I began writing Turnabout at the beginning of 2005 shortly after starting my PhD studies in composition at Cardiff University, having just finished teaching A level music. Bach Chorales were much on my mind as I had taught them for several years and I was aware of how they had epitomized Western harmony for several centuries. I thought it would be fun and interesting to include a contemporary version of a chorale, almost to get them out of my system! In fact, I included two, both closely related to each other and they are at the heart of this work.

  There is also a waltz - although you couldn't dance to it because of the irregular time signature. Later in the piece the two styles combine, and it is this contrast and development that inspired the title."

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  Howard Jones, Blue Mobile

  'Blue Mobile' for nine wind instruments was written in 2008, and was inspired by the mobile sculptures of Alexander Calder. Its structural principles are based on the idea of a limited set of materials that interact in ways that are determined partly by events during the performance and partly by the nature of the materials themselves and the way they are linked together. It borrows some elements from the language and performance practice of the blues, as suggested in the title. Each performer takes a solo, and these instrumental solos, though fully notated, have an improvisatory feel.

  The accompaniment maintains a continuous feeling of rhythmic time, and is coloured by individual choices of timbre made spontaneously by the performers. The sculptural quality comes from the fact that there is no set starting or ending point, so hearing a performance of this piece is rather like walking all round a sculptural form, seeing it from every angle.

  Howard Jones was named 'Composer of the Year' in the 2007 awards, winning the Community Music category.

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  Amir Mahyar Tafreshipou, In the Dark

  To follow

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  George Enescu, Roumanian Rhapsody no 1, Op 11

  To follow

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